Daisies on June Fifth
by Devan Alexander
Summary: Times change, Melinda May understood that. But Coulson had always been there for her... but now?


Daisies on June Fifth

By

Devan Alexander

Andrew stood in the kitchen watching Melinda over the swinging doors. She was sitting sideways on the couch gazing out the window at the rain, but he was fairly certain that she didn't see the rain at all. He knew she was a million miles away from him right now, but he didn't know where she was. She'd had so many experiences she could be anywhere on the globe right now and although it hurt him to see her like this, sometimes this was necessary in order to heal. They'd talked about a lot of things and she'd said more to him about her life than she'd ever said before, but there were places that she could never go with him… or perhaps with anyone. He was fairly certain that she was in one of those places. He sighed and went back to creating dinner and watching her helplessly.

" _Melinda, come with me," Phil whispered._

 _She glared back at him, they were on a mission, part of a team._

" _Please, it'll only take a couple of minutes."_

 _She rolled her eyes at him and moved silently from the place she_ _'d chosen to take watch. A nod to Kelsey let the man know he'd need to watch a little more broadly for a few minutes. He grinned and nodded back. Phil led the way back around the little base they'd created for themselves, and then around it. She liked Phil, she really did, but the man could be completely exasperating at times. She rounded the corner to catch up to him and found him by an overturned box. The box had a handkerchief draped over it, forming a sort of tablecloth and a couple of daisies stood drooping in a pile of rocks in the center. There were also two standard issue plates and cups on the table. He motioned her forward. She let her body display her exasperation, but she moved closer._

" _I know it's not much," he said softly as he indicated she should sit on an old tire._

 _She settled in, curious._

" _Do you know what today is?" he asked her._

 _She shook her head indicating she had no idea as he settled in across from her and poured liquid from his canteen into both of their glasses. Now she realized that this was important to him, but she couldn_ _'t think of anything at all._

" _It's June 5th," he hinted as he took his sandwich and cut it into six little pieces, putting three pieces on each plate._

 _Melinda thought hard. June fifth? What was June fifth?_

 _He opened a container and put a couple of olives on each of their plates._

" _Captain America's birthday?" she offered._

 _He grinned at her, his eyes twinkling._ _"Nope. Try again. I'll give you a hint, it's important to both of us."_

 _Now she was truly puzzled. He cut an energy bar into several pieces and split the pieces onto the two plates._

 _Melinda had no idea what today could be. He picked up his glass and indicated she should do the same. She followed suit._

" _Happy anniversary darling," he grinned. "We have officially been partners for one year…"_

Andrew glanced up and saw a tear slip unnoticed from Melinda's eye. He knew this wasn't good, but he also knew he had to wait to see if she would come to him. She had to come to him…

 _The sporty red corvette pulled up the driveway and Melinda tip-toed down the front stair hoping to get to the door before anyone else noticed._

" _Melinda," the disappointed voice sighed._

 _She froze, trying not to sigh._

" _This is not how you greet a young man who is calling for you," her mother reminded her. "Go back upstairs. Put your shoes on. Let your father answer the door and I will come up to get you."_

" _This isn't a date Mama," she sighed. "This is Phil. He's my partner from work… you know that."_

" _This is not mission apparel," her mother stated._

" _We could be undercover," Melinda muttered._

" _He can come to the door. Go." Her mother told her, ignoring her comment._

 _Melinda turned and went up the stairs, rolling her eyes only after she had her back to her mother._

" _And you do not roll your eyes at me."_

 _She_ _'d known that moving in with her parents while her apartment was being redone after the fire was not a good idea. The grill vent in the bar below her apartment had caught fire and had caused major damage to her small place. Thankfully nothing of value was lost, but she was without a home while they were repairing it. Phil had offered her his spare bedroom, but she'd refused, not wanting to impose. God but she wished she had. She went back up to her room and put her shoes on, listening as Phil rang the doorbell and her father greeted him. She could hear the two male voices chatting, and although she couldn't hear the words, Phil's voice sounded completely at ease talking to her father. It was a feat that not many men could do as her father was a rather imposing man. Then she heard her mother on the stair and wondered what opinion she would be offered this time._

" _You know I like Phillip," she greeted. "You should marry him and give me grandchildren."_

 _Melinda rolled her eyes at her mother._

" _You must learn to talk to me Melinda. This eye rolling has to stop."_

" _You don't listen."_

" _You don't try."_

 _Melinda sighed and looked at the floor for a moment to collect her thoughts._

" _Phil is my partner, Mama," she reminded her carefully. "From work."_

" _Who is taking you out on a romantic date," her mother reminded her._

" _Phil is very sentimental, Mama. Today is the third anniversary of our being partners. There is nothing more."_

" _Open your eyes Melinda."_

" _Mama, please may we have this conversation later? Phil made reservations and I don't want for us to be late because of me."_

" _Do not think you will get out of this conversation…"_

" _I know Mama, you won't forget. Please?"_

" _You look beautiful Qiaolian," she sighed. "Have a good time."_

" _Thank you Mama."_

 _Melinda kissed her mother_ _'s cheek and walked around the corner and down the steps to find Phil dressed in his tuxedo and her father laughing over something one or the other had just said. But when he saw her, the laughter dissipated and a glow appeared in his eyes._

" _Melinda, you look lovely," he greeted._

 _She offered him a real smile as she crossed to his side._

" _Do I need to have her home by a certain time?" Phil asked her father._

 _The man grinned at him._

" _No. You I think I can trust. Have a good evening, both of you."_

 _Melinda grinned at her parents as her mother had just taken her place at her father_ _'s side, and she slid her arm into Phil's. He escorted her from the house and to his car, opening the door for her, buckling her in and closing the door before going around to get in. Soon they were off and away from the house._

" _I'm sorry about them," Melinda finally sighed._

" _I like them Melinda."_

" _They like you too. Where are we going?"_

" _I've booked a table at Barrymore's," he grinned shyly._

" _Phil, you can't afford that…"_

" _I want to…"_

" _Not on what SHIELD pays us. What are you thinking?"_

" _That you are the best partner a guy could ever have," he promised her. "Had you not been my partner last month I wouldn't be here to share today with you. Thank you for always having my back."_

 _Melinda thought back, remembering that night. He_ _'d come too close to dying that night. She was grateful that she had been there._

" _You too… thank you for having my back."_

Another tear fell and Melinda didn't seem to be aware of it at all. She'd been melancholy all day and nothing he did could snap her out of it. Finally he'd offered to cook dinner and settled her in with a book, she'd been reading a lot lately. That was how he was in the kitchen and she was sitting by with window watching the rain with tears on her face.

" _May?" his face peered into her hospital room. "Can I come in?"_

 _The two fingers on her left hand that weren_ _'t broken gestured him inside. He crossed straight to her side._

" _How are you feeling?" he asked carefully as he took in her condition, casts on her right leg and arm, bandages around her ribs, burn pads on her face and right shoulder. The explosion had definitely took its toll._

" _I'm fine," she insisted, even though she felt like death warmed over._

" _I know you said no visitors, but I had to come to see you today. I… I brought you something… I know you are having trouble eating right now, but, it's our anniversary after all and I had to bring you something. I figured we could share… look," he pulled a tiny container from the bag in his pocket. "Vanilla ice cream… your favorite…"_

 _She almost managed to smile at him._

" _Happy Anniversary Melinda."_

 _He carefully shared the little container of ice cream with her, then cautiously kissed her forehead._

" _Get better. I miss you."_

 _She smiled as best as she could as he hid the empty container in his pocket and slipped from the room._

A wistful smile crossed Melinda's face and she pulled a couch pillow into her arms, resting her face on it, facing away from him. As he watched her he realized that she was trembling… possibly sobbing… but he couldn't be sure. But he needed her to come to him… even though it was killing him to watch. He hadn't seen her like this since…

 _Andrew opened the door to find Phil standing there with a bouquet of daisies._

" _She doesn't want to see anyone," Andrew greeted sadly._

" _I know," Phil admitted. "But could you ask her if she would see me for two minutes… just two, I promise."_

 _Andrew motioned Phil into the living room, offering him a seat._

" _I'll try. I make no promises."_

" _That's all I can ask for Andrew. Thank you."_

 _He waited patiently, the flowers tucked at his side. He waited a long time before he heard footsteps approaching, they were Andrew_ _'s steps, but they moved slowly, indicating that she was with him. He rose slowly and saw Andrew beside the tiniest oriental woman whose arms were wrapped tightly around herself. Her head was down. Andrew kept his arm around her, but Phil noticed that he never touched her._

" _Look Melinda, Phil is here to see you."_

 _She didn_ _'t look at him, she didn't speak. Phil stepped forward and went down on one knee to be able to see up into her face._

" _Hey Melinda," he greeted softly. "I… uh… I brought you something. Happy Anniversary, partner…" he offered as he presented her the bouquet of daisies._

 _Tears filled Melinda_ _'s eyes and she backed away from the flowers and into Andrew… her eyes widened in what looked like terror and she fled the room._

" _I'm sorry Phil…"_

" _No. No, Andrew don't be. Take these and put them somewhere where she can see them. Maybe they can bring her comfort later," he said hopefully. "I'll let myself out. You should go be with her."_

" _Thank you Phil."_

Andrew glanced at the calendar… June 5th… Suddenly he understood. Phil had always appeared on their anniversary, no matter the situation. He'd always brought her a little gift… flowers, usually daisies… dinner… some way to say thank you for being his partner. This situation was different… he knew that she was feeling betrayed… had been feeling betrayed for far too long, that much she'd admitted to him… he had to go to her this time.

 _A glance to the TV showed her the date and the shot glass she was holding was lobbed into it. No! He couldn_ _'t be… he… couldn't… be… not… Phil! She started grabbing things… tearing things… throwing things… destroying everything around her. She didn't care what it was… she shattered the glass coffee table and not noticing that she'd cut her hands… tearing books… destroying pillows… putting her fist through the wall… not once but four times before she felt the hands on her shoulders and heard the voice._

" _Melinda… Melinda, settle down…"_

" _It's your fault!" she screamed at him, and she started hitting him. He was grateful that he still had his body armor on. "I hate you!" she insisted, tears falling from her eyes. "I hate you."_

 _He let her beat on him until the force started to subside, then he caught her in his arms and held her close._

" _I hate you!" she sobbed._

" _You have every right to hate me Melinda," Fury said softly. "Phil was my friend too. More than my friend actually, I trusted him."_

 _She sobbed in his arms and her knees gave way. He caught her, lifting her into his arms. He carried her to the kitchen and rested on a chair just holding her and shedding a tear or two of his own_ _… waiting until she started to settle._

" _What happened Melinda?"_

 _She sniffled softly, face still buried in his shoulder._

" _Today should have been our anniversary… as partners…"_

 _Fury could only hold her close._

Andrew approached her carefully.

"Hey," he said softly, crouching to be at her level without touching her. "You okay?"

Tear filled eyes lifted themselves off the pillow and look at him. Her head shook slowly with a negative response.

"Can I help?"

She curled up into a tighter ball and buried her face again.

"I… remember what today is," Andrew admitted.

She was holding her breath trying not to cry, but she let herself fall the short distance into his arms and he held her quietly. Finally she started panting, then breathing more normally.

"What happened between you," he asked softly, honestly concerned.

"I don't know…" She started to answer, then her phone vibrated. It hadn't done that since she'd left on her vacation. Curious she pulled it from her pocket and opened the message. A daisy appeared on the screen… then another….

'Sorry I can't be there…' the text appeared. 'These will have to do…' and a bouquet of daisies appeared on her screen.

Tears filled her eyes, yet she shook briefly with laughter. Andrew watched her watch the phone. Something had changed in whatever message she'd just received. Finally she showed Andrew the message on her phone. He could only smile.


End file.
